Because if she could discover the truth that the Service Club members all had an unusually close relationship with the club president, Hachiman, then how could someone as smart as Yukinoshita Yukino fail to notice it completely?
But she never expected that while she was still struggling over whether she should tell Yukinoshita Yukino and whether she should help her fully blend into the Service Club's little circle, Yukinoshita Yukino had already gotten ahead of her and was even trying to make her leave.
"That's not what I meant. I just think it might not be good for you to keep staying in the Service Club."
Realizing that Yuigahama Yui understood Hachiman better than she had imagined, a faint blush appeared on Yukinoshita Yukino's face. She bit her soft lower lip and thought for a moment before revealing a little more.
"You should know about those bad rumors surrounding the president. I can tell you that most of them are true."
"It's just that the president never forced anyone. The girls either approached him themselves or had special reasons for doing it."
She knew that some girls in class secretly talked about her relationship with Hachiman, as well as the relationships between various beautiful girls and Hachiman.
Yuigahama Yui, who interacted with people far more often than she did, couldn't possibly be unaware of the many rumors about Hachiman.
"What does that have to do with anything? Didn't you just say the president never forces girls?"
Yuigahama Yui looked at Yukinoshita Yukino suspiciously. Seeing that she genuinely believed joining another club would be better for her, she could not help sharing what she really thought.
"Yukinon, you're a politician's daughter. You don't spend much time around other people, so you might not understand how much influence the president has."
"Do you know there's a huge gyaru group at Sobu High? I'm not part of it, but I know that even among them, a lot of girls are proud of having some connection to the president."
"Some of them even show off selfie photos with him. A lot of people envy them for being so close to him."
At some schools, gyarus were practically synonymous with s!uts and had terrible reputations. But at Sobu High, where discipline was strict, girls who liked dressing up and knew about fashion trends were generally considered gyarus.
Kitagawa Marin, Kita Ikuyo, Yuina, Reina, Tachibana Mikari, Karuizawa Kei, Satou Maya, and many others.
Many beautiful and outstanding girls were gyarus, so that group was admired by plenty of ordinary students, almost like a higher caste.
Even the gyaru crowd paid so much attention to President Hachiman and talked about him every day, so girls outside that circle naturally cared about him as well.
"So, Yuigahama, are you willing to sacrifice your body for the sake of saving face?"
Yukinoshita Yukino frowned slightly. Although Yuigahama Yui had not said it outright, that seemed to be what she meant.
"Why can't I? So many girls are close to the president. I'm not better than them, so why can't I do the same?"
Yuigahama Yui did not expect Yukinoshita Yukino to put it so directly. Her face reddened, but she pushed down her embarrassment and asked in return.
She was quite self-aware. Maybe she was pretty, but there was really nothing at Sobu High she could proudly brag about.
Even Yukinoshita Yukino, the daughter of the Yukinoshita family, seemed ordinary there. She was even less remarkable.
To put it simply, the reason she was not isolated in class and why some people even tried to get close to her to ask about the president was entirely because she was a member of the Service Club.
Someone had once asked her whether the second-year swimming team's ace, Hayase-senpai, and several other girls who were rumored to be especially close to President Hikigaya were really that close to him, and whether she was the same.
What could she do when asked something like that? Could she deny it?
All she could say was that it wasn't convenient to reveal exactly who was especially close to the president. Then she would awkwardly hint that the president was amazing and that, in that regard, he was super, super, super impressive.
She really wasn't lying on purpose.
She just didn't have a choice.
If the girls in her class found out that she had joined the Service Club, had a decent face, a decent figure, yet still wasn't close to the president like the girls in the rumors, wouldn't they think she was someone being excluded within the Service Club?
And now, if the Service Club really made her transfer to another club...
She felt like she would actually get bullied.
"..."
Yukinoshita Yukino had no idea that Yuigahama Yui had already imagined being tormented by Hachiman to the point of losing herself. Looking at how firmly Yuigahama Yui wanted to stay in the Service Club, she found herself speechless.
If this had happened before, she would definitely have criticized Yuigahama Yui for wanting to sacrifice herself just to please others.
But compared to all those heiress daughters and princesses who were after Hachiman's body, Yuigahama Yui, who was willing to offer herself just to fit in and avoid being left out, seemed unusually innocent.
If anyone deserved criticism, perhaps it should be Yuigahama Yui criticizing her instead, for being a woman willing to do anything for her family and for profit.
"Um... Yukinon? You're not really trying to make me leave, are you? I really want to stay in the Service Club..."
Seeing Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly fall silent, Yuigahama Yui thought she had made her angry. She swallowed nervously and asked carefully.
She admitted her motives weren't pure, but she really wasn't a s!ut. She still had her first love.
Whatever those gyaru girls could do, she could do too. Anything she didn't know, she could work hard and learn.
"If that's how you feel, then stay. Just don't regret your choice later."
Yukinoshita Yukino came back to herself, let out a light breath, and nodded in agreement. Then she gave Yuigahama Yui some advice.
"I remember that Princess Iris's younger sister, Lumilia, and Kitagawa, the gyaru from the president's class, want to hold a private cosplay convention. So tomorrow they're planning to visit a large convention to see how one is run. The president will probably go with them."
"If you really want a chance to improve your relationship with the president, and you don't have other plans tomorrow, you can come with us."
If she really managed to get on Hachiman's good side, it would be a huge benefit for someone from an ordinary family like Yuigahama Yui.
The only thing Yukinoshita Yukino had been worried about was whether Yuigahama Yui had no such intentions and would simply be swept along until she somehow ended up in Hachiman's bed.
Now that she understood Yuigahama Yui's own thoughts, she no longer had any reason to stop her.
"The convention on Saturday? Is there still time to buy tickets?"
Yuigahama Yui froze for a moment and quickly picked up her phone.
"You don't need to buy any. Someone will prepare tickets for us. You only need to decide whether you have time to go."
Yukinoshita Yukino shook her head. Even for the mermaid diva's concert they had sat in ultra-VIP seats. A normal convention was even less of a problem. If necessary, they could simply teleport into the venue.
Of course, considering the elf princesses' status, she felt it was more likely they would sneak into the convention while invisible, or use magic disguises to avoid causing a commotion.
"I do! I do! Even if I didn't have time, I'd make time! This is great! Thank you, Yukinon!"
Yuigahama Yui nodded repeatedly and looked at Yukinoshita Yukino with immense gratitude. She even wanted to throw herself at her and hug her in excitement.
She had thought the Service Club would make her leave and that some people would start bullying her.
Instead, everything had turned around, and now she could privately go out and have fun with the president.
"You don't need to thank me. Just don't resent me when you can't take it anymore."
Seeing this, Yukinoshita Yukino stepped back, turned away from Yuigahama Yui's outstretched arms, and said calmly.
She had never liked getting too physically close to other people.
Now, because of Hachiman, she was even less interested in physical contact with girls, especially intimate actions like being hugged.
'Mm... President Hachiman seems to like this sort of thing.'
He had made her and her sister look at each other's faces while taking turns going through the magical girl awakening ceremony.
Although only her sister had been awakened that night and she herself had truly become a magical girl this morning, the empathy bracelet meant their experiences felt almost identical.
"Huh? Yukinon, what's wrong?"
Yuigahama Yui did not think much about being avoided. She had never been able to hug Yukinoshita Yukino anyway.
But when she noticed the slight upward roll of Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes, she hesitated.
'That expression looks... a little strange...'
Before Yuigahama Yui could ask what was on her mind, knocking sounded outside the Service Club room.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Excuse me, is this the Service Club? Is the president here?"
"A new request at a time like this? And it's looking for the president?"
Hearing the voice outside, both Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuigahama Yui were startled.
If it were Nanasaki, Kumatsu Yukariko, or the others, they obviously wouldn't ask whether this was the Service Club.
Anyone asking that question would be a student visiting for the first time.
Still, this was the first time they had seen someone come directly looking for the president.
Most students didn't really understand who Hachiman was. They only knew him through campus rumors. Those who actually understood what he was capable of could usually reach him through friends or acquaintances and had no reason to submit a request through the Service Club.
"J-just a moment. Why are there so many people?"
Yukinoshita Yukino was about to invite them in, but when she focused on the sounds outside, she noticed the hallway was unusually noisy. It sounded like more than one or two people.
A thought crossed her mind, and she quickly walked to the clubroom door and slowly opened it.
The moment she saw the crowd outside, both she and Yuigahama Yui behind her were stunned.
The once empty and quiet hallway was now filled with people.
Or rather, two groups of people.
One group wore short-sleeved summer sports uniforms and athletic shorts. Their figures were curvy. Some had pale skin and ponytails, some were tanned with short hair, and some were extremely muscular.
There were all kinds of girls, but most of them had especially firm hips.
The other group wore tennis uniforms. Their figures were slimmer overall, and a much higher proportion had fair skin. Long white legs extended below their tennis skirts, full of youthful energy, and wristbands wrapped around their slender wrists.
Standing at the front of the two groups were the obvious leaders, a purple-haired beauty with a ponytail and a black-haired beauty with long straight hair.
"Kitamura-san? Did you come to remind us about training?"
Yukinoshita Yukino slowly looked around before her gaze settled on Kitamura Kaori, the black-haired beauty in a tennis skirt.
She had memorized the entire school roster, so she naturally recognized the girls outside as members of the track team and the tennis club.
The track team was visiting for the first time, but the tennis club had already submitted a request before. They wanted to improve the abilities of several promising members.
Why had they suddenly brought so many people here today?
"No, no, we didn't come to rush you. We came to thank you."
Seeing that Yukinoshita Yukino had misunderstood, Kitamura Kaori quickly waved her hands and denied it. Her face reddened slightly as she explained in a quiet voice.
"With the Service Club's help, several of our members have improved very quickly. After discussing it with the president, we both felt that the Service Club has already completed our request."
"But the competition hasn't happened yet."
Hearing that, Yukinoshita Yukino frowned slightly.
They had accepted the tennis club's request, but they had never decided who would handle the training.
Because of that, she and Hachiman had made a bet and arranged a competition to see whose trainees improved faster. The winner would then take charge of training the tennis club.
Although she already knew she couldn't win and that after losing she and Yuigahama would have to wear maid outfits in the Service Club for Hachiman to see, the match hadn't even started yet.
"Actually, Haruna, Chika, Ai, and Mio already played practice matches against each other in private. After seeing the results, we felt there was no need to continue. Our request has already been fulfilled."
Kitamura Kaori looked a little awkward but tried to put it as gently as possible.
"Of course, Haruna and Chika's training is basically finished. But Ai and Mio are progressing differently, so we'd still like to ask President Hikigaya to continue coaching them."
"..."
After hearing the explanation, Yukinoshita Yukino looked past Kitamura Kaori toward Saeki Ai and Sugiyama Mio, who stood beside Sairenji Haruna and Kitamura Chika.
She fell silent.
Sugiyama Mio, the flat-chested beauty with black twin tails, crossed her arms and slightly raised her pale chin when she met Yukinoshita Yukino's gaze.
Saeki Ai, whose long black hair was tied into a ponytail, looked much more embarrassed. Her cheeks warmed as she turned her eyes away.
Originally, their skill levels had been similar to Sairenji Haruna's. It could even be said they were slightly stronger.
But after receiving Hachiman's personal coaching, Sairenji Haruna's ability had improved dramatically. She had immediately surpassed both of them, and it even felt as though the tennis club's stars, Kitamura Kaori and Takane Manaka, could no longer beat her consistently. [T/N: Previously it was Takamine Aika, now Takane Manaka. She's from an anime called 'Love Plus'.]
They weren't saying Yukinoshita Yukino taught poorly. Her careful instruction had definitely helped.
But compared to the absurd growth produced by Hachiman's personal guidance, it wasn't even close.
Logically speaking, both Yukinoshita Yukino and Hachiman belonged to the Service Club. This request was for the Service Club to train them. Naturally, whoever produced better results should continue coaching them.
Still, Saeki Ai felt extremely awkward.
Because what they were doing clearly looked like they were rejecting Yukinoshita-san.
"It's normal that you'd want the president to train you. After all, I'm not as capable as he is."
Yukinoshita Yukino withdrew her gaze. Her expression barely changed. After a brief silence, she nodded.
They weren't wrong.
There was no need for a contest. The gap was too large. Anyone could see she couldn't compete.
Besides, she already belonged to Hachiman now.
The competition had no meaning. If Hachiman wanted it, she couldn't refuse whether it was a maid outfit or cat ears.
The only thing that felt a little inappropriate was that, as vice president, she couldn't solve any requests herself and always needed Hachiman to personally step in.
It was almost as if she were just a tool for accepting requests.
"However, the president isn't at the Service Club right now. I don't know whether he'll have time recently, but I'll pass your request along to him."
After briefly answering the tennis club members, the expressionless Yukinoshita Yukino turned toward the girls from the track team.
"And what about you? Members of the track team, are you here for the president too?"
"That's right. I'm Fujito Chiyuki from the track team. Last time, President Hikigaya gave us some simple guidance in the equipment storage room, and the results were excellent."
Ever since being saved by Hachiman, Fujito Chiyuki had never been able to stop thinking about him. Seeing that it was finally their turn, she immediately straightened her posture and spoke.
"Considering the principles of President Hikigaya's Service Club, after discussing it among ourselves, we'd also like to submit an official request on behalf of the track team. We hope President Hikigaya can become the coach of our track team."
[T/N: If you are liking the novel so far, considering leaving a review, power stone and comment below the chapter. You can also join the p@treon to support if you want. Enjoy~ Have a great day.]